Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers helmet rests on the bench against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

How Saints Can Burst Panthers' Bubble Week 15

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Dec 12, 2025 6:24 PM ET

The New Orleans Saints aren't going to be in the playoffs this season, but they can still impact the playoff picture.

There are five teams eliminated from playoff contention in the NFC right now: Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, and the New York Giants. That's obviously not where the Saints want to be, but New Orleans can negatively impact other teams' chances of making a run.

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Last week, the Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which helped the then-second-place Carolina Panthers. Now, the Saints have a shot at the Panthers again this weekend at home and can hurt their playoff chances as well.

The Saints have a big game on Sunday

The Buccaneers lost on Thursday night and are now 7-7 on the season. The Panthers are 7-6 on the season entering the contest. Right now, the official NFL playoff picture has the Buccaneers listed with a 53 percent chance of landing a playoff spot. The Panthers -- who have the No. 4 seed in the conference -- only have a 43 percent chance. If they beat the Saints, though, that number increases to 63 percent. If New Orleans takes down the Panthers -- for the second time this season -- it would drop Carolina's chances to 25 percent.

Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor certainly sounds like he wants to play spoiler, as transcribed by The Times-Picayune and The Advocate's Matthew Paras.

"We’ve already been eliminated, so why not bring other people with us to sit on the couch and watch the playoffs?” Taylor said. “One of the chips on our shoulder last week was knowing that we could possibly ruin it for Tampa.”

The Saints hurt the Buccaneers' playoff chances last week and have a shot to do so once again this weekend with Carolina. New Orleans already beat the Panthers once so it certainly is very possible that it comes out on top once again this weekend.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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